The Nutcracker
by Chichiri-Neko
Summary: I shouldn't need a summary. Everyone should know the story of the Nutcracker.


The Nutcracker 

I tried to stick to the original story line of the Nutcracker, not the oh-so-sweet-it-could-cause-cavities-little-kid story. I actually did research for this, but mostly because I couldn't remember it… This is based mostly off the original that whatshisface wrote. I can't remember his name now… he was some German guy… wait, I'll remember eventually.

Disclaimer: paste your own disclaimer here 

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Tomoyo pushed herself away from the window when she heard someone ring the doorbell. She briefly wondered who it was as she hurried toward the door. Would it be her godfather? He had promised her he would be there. 'I have something very special for you this year,' were his words last time she had gotten a chance to talk with him. 

She opened the door smiling brightly in hopes it was my godfather only to find it was just some of the people her parents had invited over. Her smile faded a bit in disappointment as she let the couple inside. She took their coats, hung them away, showed them to where her mother was, then excused herself back to waiting in her window. 

"What're you looking for?" Came a voice from behind her. She jumped and looked for the source of the voice. She frowned when it turned out to belong to her next-door neighbor's son. He was a few years younger than her, and she found him quite annoying. 

The boy pushed his black bangs out of his eyes as he walked over to the window where Tomoyo had decided to take refuge from the party. He stared out for a few seconds before turning to stare at her again. 

"I'm waiting for someone very important who said he'd be here." She told him as her eyes surveyed her dimly lit from yard. "Now go away, Ken. I'm in no mood to deal with you." 

He frowned and glared at her then stalked hastily back out the room. She sighed when she was sure he was out of the room. She had a feeling that things were not going to be well between the two as the night moved on. 

She smiled again and jumped up from the window when she saw a tall figure walking up the driveway from his car. She ran to the door and opened it just as the man was about to ring the doorbell. She jumped into the old man's arms and hugged him for all she was worth. 

"I'm so glad you made it! I almost got the feeling you weren't going to come." She said as she pulled him inside the house where it was much warmer. She took her godfather's coat and put it away where she had put all the others and led him to where everyone else was. 

After a few hours, most of the guests who weren't family had left. So Tomoyo's mother said she could open up one of her gifts. Her godfather called her over to him and gave her a long box. She took the box and sat down on the floor a few feet in front of him. 

She looked up at him once more before opening the beautifully wrapped box. She slowly pulled away the tissue paper and gasped. She reached into the box and pulled out a nutcracker soldier. The Nutcracker was dressed in a dark blue uniform with long black pants and little black boots. It had to be the most beautifully crafted nutcracker Tomoyo had ever seen. She quickly stood the doll in the box and jumped up to hug her godfather. 

Ken stepped up to the doll and picked it up and walked over to the nut bowl. "Does this thing really crack nuts?" He asked picking up a large walnut out of the bowl and placing it in the Nutcracker's mouth. "I say we find out." He pushed down on the little lever on the Nutcracker's back to make the mouth move. But he pushed it down a little too hard because there was a loud cracking sound as the nut and the Nutcracker's front tooth broke. 

Tomoyo rushed over to him and grabbed back her doll and the teeth. "You broke him! Go home now, I'll never speak to you again." She screamed pushing him out of the room. She walked back over to her godfather and held the doll and tooth out for him to take. 

"Do you think you could fix him for me?" She asked in a small shy voice. He smiled as he took the doll back from her. 

"Of course. I can go do it right now if you so please." He said rising out of his chair. Tomoyo nodded and smiled her thanks. "I'll be back soon." He said as he left. 

Tomoyo walked back to where the rest of her father family was and continued to join in the festivities while she waited for her godfather to get back. Almost an hour later, he showed back up with her Nutcracker in perfect condition once again. Just as she was finally reunited with her beloved Nutcracker, her mother decided it was getting late and sent her to bed. 

---- 

Tomoyo lay in her bed staring at the ceiling of her room. She was too excited to sleep now. She got up and opened her door a crack and listened carefully. All was quiet, her family must have gone to bed, so she quietly exited her room and snuck downstairs to visit with the Nutcracker. 

As she was about to turn the corner into the room, she heard noises coming from inside the room. She quietly peeked inside only to find hundreds of mice running around everywhere being led by a strange seven-headed mouse, the Mouse King. 

Tomoyo quickly surveyed the room in hopes of finding her Nutcracker and saw that the Mouse King had him. At the same time, the Mouse King spotted Tomoyo standing at the doorway and proceeded to threaten her that if she wanted her dear Nutcracker to stay in one piece, that she must give him all her other dolls. 

"You, girl! This is your Nutcracker is it not?" Demanded the Mouse King in an unusually low voice for a mouse. "If you want him to stay the way he is, you better give us the rest of those other dolls you got." 

Tomoyo reluctantly took a step into the room toward her doll cabinet. As she was about to open its doors, her Nutcracker magically came to life and attempted to fight the Mouse King. Tomoyo watched in horror as her beloved Nutcracker was defeated by the Mouse King. In retaliation, she threw one of her slippers at him, but fainted immediately afterwards. 

---- 

The next morning, Tomoyo was found downstairs lying in a pool of blood around her by her mother. By the time she woke up, her family and a doctor surrounded her. 

"It appears that you knocked over this when you came down here, Ojousan." The doctor said as he finished wrapping up her arm, motioning with his head toward the doll cabinet. "You nearly bled to death." The doctor instructed her that she should stay in bed till she was fully healed again. 

While Tomoyo was recovering, her godfather came to visit and make her feel better. 

"Would you like to hear a story about how the Nutcracker became what he is today?" He asked looking over at it sitting next to her on the bed. Tomoyo smiled and nodded. 

"Well you see, the feud between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King is legendary. I'm surprised you don't know it." He smiled at her before he continued. "It started with a Princess. 

"She was a beautiful princess by the name of Princess Sakura. But she was cursed to be forever ugly by the Mouse King's mother, who was avenging the death of several of her sons, who were killed at the hands of the princess's own father. 

"The only way the curse could be stopped, was for a brave and handsome man to find the hardest nut in the world, crack it with his teeth, and give the kernel to the princess to eat." 

---- 

"Whoever should accomplish this task and break the curse, shall have my daughter's hand in marriage and a grand money award." Announced the king. "Time is of the essence here, and it is getting short. We must hurry if we are to break this horrible curse." 

At the final moment when the curse was to take effect, a young man, who also happened to be Tomoyo's godfather's nephew, appeared with the prized nut and offered it to the princess. The moment she swallowed the nut, she turned into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. And at the same time, the young man became repulsively ugly with elongated features similar to those of a wooden nutcracker. No one had bothered to tell the man that he would inherit the curse in her place. 

The princess was so repulsed by the man's ugliness, that she had her father banish him from the kingdom permanently or face execution. In the commotion, the Nutcracker accidentally stepped on the Mouse King's mother and killed her. This action further prompted the eternal vengeance on the Nutcracker by the Mouse King. 

---- 

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King are facing off for a second time. The Nutcracker is better prepared this time and beats the Mouse King easily by cutting off his seven heads. 

As Tomoyo watched, a billowing white smoke surrounded the Nutcracker. Then a figure stepped of the smoke, revealing a handsome man with dark hair, wearing the same uniform the Nutcracker was wearing. He walked over to Tomoyo and took her hand and led her off to another kingdom where he was a prince. 

They traveled through an enchanted land to get to his magnificent palace. On their journey they met the Snow Queen, and the people of the enchanted lands of the snowflakes and Candyland. When they finally arrived at his palace, they met the Sugar Plum Faerie and beautiful waltzing flower people. 

At the end of the day, Tomoyo woke up and found herself in her bedroom once again. She looked around the room for her Nutcracker and found him on her dresser. She sighed and leaned back in her bed to stare at the ceiling. 

"It was just a dream." She said glumly remembering her handsome prince. "I wish it really wasn't just a dream." She pushed her blankets off her and got dressed to go downstairs. 

She yawned as she walked into the kitchens and saw her godfather sitting at the table with her mother. She smiled as he turned around to look at her. 

"You're finally up, Tomoyo-chan. I was beginning to wonder if you were still alive up there." He joked as Tomoyo wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug. His eyes flickered over to the doorway as she let go of him and he turned fully in his seat. 

"There's someone I'd like you to meet, Tomoyo-chan." He said referring to the boy about her age standing in the doorway. "This is my nephew, Eriol." 

Tomoyo turned and gasped slightly. He looked exactly like her prince! The dark, bluish- black hair and the deep blue eyes. She noticed the recognition pass through his eyes. She smiled and bowed slightly never taking her eyes off Eriol. 

She turned and quickly grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl on the table. She smiled at her godfather she took Eriol's hand and left the room. She led him into the den and turned to face him. 

"You were real." She said setting her banana on a table. 

He looked at her confused. "What do you mean?" 

She smiled again as she walked closer to him wrapped her arms around him. "It doesn't matter anymore." She said looking up at him. Her eyes flickered to something above their heads and she blinked in confusion. 

"When did that get there?" 

Eriol looked up and grinned then looked back down at her. "Just like you said yourself. 'It doesn't matter.' All that matters is that it's there." Tomoyo looked back at Eriol and returned his grin. 

Time seemed to stop for the pair as Eriol leaned down and their lips met in a sweet kiss. They pulled away smiling at each other then turned to their friends and families clapping and cheering. 

Tomoyo picked up the skirts of her dress in one hand and took Eriol's hand in her other, and the pair walked down he aisle toward the exit where their car was waiting. They stopped again when they got to their car and turned to face everyone who was still coming out of the church. She smiled as she turned back toward the car and threw her bouquet over head. 

~ Owari ~ 

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A/N: Ugh… I'm surprised I was actually able to sit here this long to type this up… But I'm sure no one cares about my bodily aches so I won't bore you with them. 

I'm not dead after all! Just been busy with tons of projects from school… and not enough sleep… I'm glad it's winter break. It was long over due. ^_^;; Anyway… I wrote two Christmas stories instead of one like most other sane people. I actually wrote this one and my other around two weeks ago. I got grounded from the computer tho so I couldn't type 'em… v.v;; Sumimasen mina-sama! Hope you liked, review! Onegai! 

I remembered his name! It's E.T.A Hoffman. Hehehe. ^_^

~ Chichiri Neko


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